Mars University: Education to Lead the Settlement and Exploration of Mars

A lack of Mars-oriented education has stifled human space exploration for over half a century. Considering higher education about Mars settlement and exploration does not currently exist, this represents a need for dramatic changes in how and where learning occurs. As the first school dedicated to making life multiplanetary, Mars University was founded over the Summer 2020. Researchers from Mars University discuss the background, challenges, progress, and solutions to lead the human exploration, settlement, and education of Mars. In providing an informative archive of progress and lessons learned in a feasibility study after the first year of operations at Mars University, this paper explores the history of space education, barriers, student engagement, and solutions for MarsU academic programs, as well as the approach, impact, and vision for Mars settlement, education, and exploration. The statistics and data generated from student engagement and higher education about Mars settlement and exploration are of direct relevance to the knowledge gaps, mindsets, and passions of both the younger and older generations that are necessary to becoming a multiplanetary species. This research study culminates in one of the first studies on higher education dedicated to the settlement and exploration of Mars.